Reading, Writing and Arithmetic are the staples of the system but there is much, much more that a young citizen needs to learn in America today.

Corporations spend lots of money training their employees in communications skills that go beyond the literary forms taught in schools. Expanding the traditional English curriculum to more fully explore business, technical and legal writing would be useful. Studying nonverbal communications would be revealing to most. Learning how to submit a government grant request could pay big dividends. Basic training in time management and other common sense topics would also be instructive and useful.

Civics classes are required in most states in addition to national, state and local history. They are typically dull, boring and drab classes taught by rote and lacking insight. They could be the most exciting. Legislative process and government organization ought to be taught by charismatic insiders like Arnold Schwartznegger or Bill Clinton and supplemented with practical workshops fashioned after Boys and Girls State where students get to try their hand at politics.Practical criminal and civil law classes ought to be taught to all teen agers. Learn to avoiding becoming a victim of crime, self defense, defensive driving, situational awareness. Learn how to fire a gun. What to do if you witness a crime. When do you need an attorney. How can you find one. Testifying in court. Attend a trial. Spend a night in jail (voluntarily).

The movie Risky Business showed how a class in Free Enterprise opened Tom Cruise's eyes to the world around him. Basic business forms, employment law, typical accounting and other business processes, taxation, and contract law would benefit every citizen of the nation. A little time spent studying tax laws and reporting requirements would produce citizens better equipped to act in their own interests. Students could receive a W-2 from the school and use it to prepare a tax return using an academic version of TurboTax. The tutorials included in that product are amazing. Reading a financial statement and opening banking and brokerage accounts is something every student should do.

Technology training goes beyond learning to surf the Internet for music, IM and shopping. As they will use computer tools and the internet at every step to further their education, much computer training will be practical rather than as separate courses. Students might appreciate a module on building a computer from components including some discussion of the purpose and organization of the operating system software. Students interested in programming could build their own websites / online resume.

Construction technology shows how your home is built and what you need to do to keep it from burning down. Understanding your car and its maintenance requirements and diagnosing problems requiring repair will certainly be useful. Some might even be interested in learning how common appliances like air conditioners work and what you should do to keep them working efficiently.

Learning to be an intelligent consumer is more critical than ever. Purchases of a wide variety of products from pesticides to insurance contracts require specialized knowledge. Using the health care system in America today nearly requires an MD, so some training is bound to be useful.

Driver's education is of special importance given the carnage on the highways. Given the amount of time most students will spend in a car this curriculum should be dramatically expanded. State Farm currently offers a driving mastery program that could be the basis for dramatically improved driver's ed. Trainers from Bondurant Racing would be ideal instructors for this module. A service project in a quadraplegic rehab center will convince some that seatbelts are useful. Video's of carnage on the highways will help others. A realistic trainer / video game like an airline link trainer could give students the opportunity to experience skids, slides, crashes and even simulate impairment.

Alcohol, drug and addiction dependency prevention programs can be done so much better. With domestic violence such an important issue, it ought to also be rolled into this module.

Fundamental introductions to topics of national interest like energy, international relations, race and religion would have to be handled very gingerly to avoid tainting the education program with a particular political point-of-view. Nevertheless not presenting these issues is not an alternative either. A high school graduate needs a better appreciation of world politics than he can glean from studying Egyptian monuments, the Magna Carta and listening to Rush Limbaugh. How should he view current issues like abortion, terrorism, global warming, windmills vs. nuclear power, nuclear proliferation, etc. What resources can he rely on for information? Study the various parties positions on the issues and their record of achievement. Register to vote. Conduct a school election using the machines used in actual elections.

And of course that old staple in high schools everywhere sex education needs a major overhaul. Teaching abstinence is not going to work until we graduate more priests than laymen (and laywomen). Anyone who operates a machine ought to study the operations and maintenance manual. We really need to introduce fundamental anatomy and more medical technology training in high school. This stuff is far more important and more interesting to most people than a third year of English literature studies. Students should know the organs, bones, and major tissues in their bodies. They ought to be able to detect abnormalities and even administer some simple tests those pregnancy test kits are a great place to start, but why not other urine and even some blood tests (like a diabetic's blood sugar, prick your finger device). Everyone ought to be able to accurately record their own vital signs including temperature, respirations, pulse and blood pressure. A DNA test might be cool if each student could end up with a record of his or her own DNA.

First Aid training for every high school graduate ought to include how to safely stop bleeding, the Heimlich maneuver, CPR and use of a commercial cardioinverter. Recognizing a drug overdose and knowing what to do would also be useful. A couple of trips to the ER (not as a patient) and a service project on a medical unit would round out many a high school education.

Most students will also need to know how medical insurance works. Discussing plan types (PPO, HMO, medicare), coverages, exclusions, copays, preexisting conditions, drug formularies, premiums, deductibles, and lifetime limits will prepare many for this aspect of everyday life.

And so many more topics of critical interest that never make it to the classroom.